Birth Center RNs use collective action to solve longstanding problems

UMPNC members at Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital recently experienced an unprecedented success by using the power of collective action. RNS in the Birth Center had been dealing with increasing acuity, higher volume of patients and inadequate staffing for almost two years since the opening of the new Mott. These conditions were taking a heavy toll on the nurses and their ability to provide the best care possible to their patients. With the support of the UMPNC Chair Katie Oppenheim and MNA Organizer Kelly Anthony, the nurses took action to gain the administration’s attention and hold them accountable for solutions. The nurses: • Recruited and delegated a group to show up unannounced at a staff nurse forum where they requested a special meeting with CNO Marge Calarco and explained to her how multifaceted and urgent the issues have been since the opening of the new hospital. • Signed and delivered support cards to Calarco from a majority of their colleagues that detailed the problems on the unit and suggested solutions. • Kept pressure on the administration by sending a collective letter when a meeting was scheduled that excluded floor nurses from the discussion about their issues. As a result, Calarco set up two staff forums on the unit to accommodate all shifts, and communicated to nurses that she reviewed every one of the support cards and wanted to directly talk with them about implementing solutions. Nursing administration, HR and Physician leadership all attended the forums and rounded the floor to review the nurses’ recommendations. The nurses spoke up to the physicians about a lack of collegiality and expressed disappointment in the head physician for being 20 minutes late to one of the meetings. In response, administration significantly improved staffing by hiring additional RNS, reinstating a shift, increasing the number of temps, adding CSR floats for the first time, and hiring an additional nurse educator. Now that nurses have successfully used their collective voice and seen improvements in communication with management it has significantly help boost staff morale. The staff forums are now taking place on a bimonthly basis. “Being able to stay strong and advocate for needed resources has helped make changes within our unit,” said Megan Bollinger, RN. “The union has put in place a system to give us a voice as patient advocates-it is up to us to use it.” If you have questions about how to address concerns on your unit, contact Kelly at (517) 853-5521 or kelly.anthony@minurses.org.